Jammu and Kashmir police today said it has "concrete evidence" about militants and separatists colluding with each other to create the recent unrest in the Valley.
"There is concrete evidence that the summer unrest in the Valley was planned by Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militants in league with separatist politicians," Inspector General of Police (IGP) for Kashmir division Shiv Murari Sahai told reporters in Srinagar.
The IGP said Ghulam Mohammad Tantray, the tehsil president of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat (TeH) in Sopore town, had stayed with Lashkar commander Furqan and was also maintaining telephonic contact with him.
"There are direct evidences to show that militant organisations and separatist leaders, who are leading a so-called peaceful agitation, are very very deeply linked," Sahai said.
He said the police has also come across the evidence of money channels through which funding has taken place to carry out the agitation.
The IGP said the recent upsurge in militant activity after the decline in stone-pelting incidents was another link to prove that the unrest was planned.
"Stone pelting has subsided and suddenly there is an upsurge in militant activity. There are arrests of Pakistanis (militants), there have been killings, this cannot be just a coincidence," he said.
"As our investigations are making a headway, we find increasing evidence that there is a very well-planned operation on part of the Lashkar to carry out incidents of stone-pelting and arson," he said.
{{/usCountry}}"As our investigations are making a headway, we find increasing evidence that there is a very well-planned operation on part of the Lashkar to carry out incidents of stone-pelting and arson," he said.
{{/usCountry}}Sahai also claimed that during the interrogation of a stone-pelter in Sopore it was revealed that militants were hiding in a house in Sopore.
"When the house was raided, we made some recoveries which included uniforms with badges of (different) ranks. We conclude that militants were planning to operate in uniform and these are the likely signs of fidayeen (suicide) attacks," he said.